How many applicants this year?

[gijohn529]

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Hey... I was wondering if anyone knows how many dental school applicants there are for this year. What is the trend showing... is it a lot more students or roughly the same since the past few years.

 

[burton117]

When I called AADSAS a month or so back and asked them, they said they've received just under 12,000 applications (for the entering class of 2007).

So if you estimate 4300-4400 seats nationally, this is about 36% acceptance rate or roughly 1 in 3.

Tough competition!


I think next cycle will be even more competetive due to the following factors:

1) about 10-20% increase in applicants.
2) add in reapplicants from this cycle
3) increased number of retakes of the DAT and excellent study materials increasing the average applicant's score of the DAT
4) increased number of applicants increases the average score achieved by accepted applicants (more applicants at 20+ DAT means less applicants at 19 will be accepted)

 

[AlphaQUp]

I think next cycle will be even more competetive due to the following factors:

1) about 10-20% increase in applicants.
2) add in reapplicants from this cycle
3) increased number of retakes of the DAT and excellent study materials increasing the average applicant's score of the DAT
4) increased number of applicants increases the average score achieved by accepted applicants (more applicants at 20+ DAT means less applicants at 19 will be accepted)

1. Seems a bit high to me. I could be wrong, but wasn't there around 12k applicants in the previous cycle as well? Doesn't seem like a significant difference to me.
2. There are reapplicants in every cycle...
3. Increased number of retakes? How do you know?
4. Makes sense.

 

[burton117]

1. Seems a bit high to me. I could be wrong, but wasn't there around 12k applicants in the previous cycle as well? Doesn't seem like a significant difference to me.
2. There are reapplicants in every cycle...
3. Increased number of retakes? How do you know?
4. Makes sense.

This thread may help answer your questions...

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=361762

1) I heard directly from AADSAS, however if you add the schools who don't use AADSAS - you may add a handful of applicants here...
2) as the number of applicants increases much higher than the number of spots, there is a snowball effect each following year where more and more applicants need to reapply to be accepted - I personally know several people who have reapplied multiple times and some have only now gotten accepted.
3) As DAT scores for an accepted applicant increase, more and more people will seriouly consider retaking the DAT. Simply by retaking the DAT (knowing the procedures, reduced anxiety, etc...) most people can improve their scores at least 1 point.
4) of course it does 😀

 

[Drill2Fill]

Is there any acutally statistcal proof that DAT scores are rising? It just seems like it is one of those SDN myths, just becasue this place is so full of anxious pre-dents.

 

[tomo2785]

Is there any acutally statistcal proof that DAT scores are rising? It just seems like it is one of those SDN myths, just becasue this place is so full of anxious pre-dents.

UCSF 2005 average Class Stats:
DAT academic average=20.54; PAT=18.19

UCSF 2006 Average Class
DAT academic Average=20.93; PAT=19.26

From the looks of pre-dents.com i'd say 2007 will go up another .5-1 point or so.

So yea it went up but not by that much.

 

[Revelde]

UCSF 2005 average Class Stats:
DAT academic average=20.54; PAT=18.19

UCSF 2006 Average Class
DAT academic Average=20.93; PAT=19.26

From the looks of pre-dents.com i'd say 2007 will go up another .5-1 point or so.

So yea it went up but not by that much.

Imagine. at this rate, in 5 years the avg will be like 22 at many schools.. hahaha sad.

 

[Ex_EE]

Don't forget TMDSAS the Texas schools have around 1000 applicants and we don't use AADSAS.

 

[Drill2Fill]

Imagine. at this rate, in 5 years the avg will be like 22 at many schools.. hahaha sad.

Probably not, many people that have recently taken the DAT twice say that it is getting harder.

 

[masterofpuppet]

Don't forget TMDSAS the Texas schools have around 1000 applicants and we don't use AADSAS.

the stat is for number of applicants to U.S schools 😀

 

[muz]

actually, i did a presentation for the pre-dental association at the University of Michigan...looking at official ADEA stats...the AADSAS gpa has risen to 3.33 from a 3.28 (nationally) and the DAT's are consistently goin up as well...as of decemeber AADSAS was predicting nearly 12,500 applications this cycle....

that 1:3 number for dental school enrollment is nearly what i calculated with the stats that i was provided

so bring on ur A-game when u think about applying next year!

 

[burton117]

actually, i did a presentation for the pre-dental association at the University of Michigan...looking at official ADEA stats...the AADSAS gpa has risen to 3.33 from a 3.28 (nationally) and the DAT's are consistently goin up as well...as of decemeber AADSAS was predicting nearly 12,500 applications this cycle....

that 1:3 number for dental school enrollment is nearly what i calculated with the stats that i was provided

so bring on ur A-game when u think about applying next year!

It looks like your ADEA stats are from the ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools. That book was worth every penny!

 

[pre-dentalguy]

That's an insane number!!! I think some of it is fabricated!! There's no way!!! That pretty much means that applicants are scoring in the 90 percentile.

 

[AnonymousADCOM]

Probably not, many people that have recently taken the DAT twice say that it is getting harder.

uh oh.... =(

 

[SugarNaCl]

the stat is for number of applicants to U.S schools 😀

Yeah! DUH! and everyone knows Texas is not the U.S.!

 

[pmantz]

Probably not, many people that have recently taken the DAT twice say that it is getting harder.

If they make the test harder, it will mean scores will go down and avg. matriculated applicant score will go down. What is the function does increasing the difficulty? I think any difference in the difficulty of the test is totaly subjectice. Don't freak people out.

 

[Nasem]

As nice and easy it is to predict the DAT scores are going higher and higher, but the average intellegence of dental students will remain the same no matter what they study or whatever it is they do.

Sure "better" study material is available, so if the national AA average was 17-18 3 years ago, today it might jump up to a whopping 18.5 to 19 but it WILL level off and stay there until they make the DATz easier.

As far as competition goes, yeh, its getting pretty competitive, but there is always a good balance going on. If dentistry is going to become number # 1 in competition, then Medical school go down and vise versa.

I really think, with the heavy competition going on, an applicant needs to apply to more than 15 schools to stand a good chance (unless you get 25+ DAT and 3.5+ GPA and a **** load of shadowing hours).

 

[eleminopee]

the US needs more dental schools.

 

[blankguy]

the US needs more dental schools.

I don't know but sooner or later the number of applicants will drop off because the applicant pool seems to go cyclical. Obviously right now it is on an upswing since ~2000. I don't think it will be increasing like this indefinately. When there is a downswing I don't expect it to settle to where it was before. I hope I am right.

 

[AlphaQUp]

I don't know but sooner or later the number of applicants will drop off because the applicant pool seems to go cyclical. Obviously right now it is on an upswing since ~2000. I don't think it will be increasing like this indefinately. When there is a downswing I don't expect it to settle to where it was before. I hope I am right.

I think you are right. I have a feeling this coming cycle or the next is when it will reach it's peak and start to drop off.